


Fire and Plants

by honestlyrachel



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2018-10-23 18:58:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 14,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10725240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestlyrachel/pseuds/honestlyrachel
Summary: A passionate young lady is sent to Romania to help restore an endangered plant in one of the National Parks. If only those stupid dragon tamers would keep their beasts away from the area!Reader x Charlie WeasleyCOMPLETE





	1. “And who are you, again?”

**Author's Note:**

> So basically, the title of the chapter is the prompt. The question will either be written somewhere in the chapter :)
> 
> I'm sorry if anyone can speak Romanian - I used google translate! Call me out on any errors :)

**Disclaimer** : I don't own Harry Potter or Charlie Weasley, J.K. Rowling does.

 

Romania was a huge country but the small town of Uricani only had a population of around 8000 people. Arriving here 3 months ago from busy London had been a real eye opener for you. Going from a fast paced policy job at the Ministry to a hands-on outdoors position was a big change for you. In London you saw a mixture of people everyday - holiday makers, explorers, shoppers, historians, tourists, and just plain Londoners. The majority of people in Uricani were people who were born and bred here.

You were a nature lover and were here for work. After graduating Hogwarts you began working for the Department for the Protection of Magical Flora and Fauna and your newest project had required you to relocate to Romania. Uricani was a beautiful town and did have a deep and rich culture. The town bordered Retezat National Park which was where you carried out your work. You had arrived a couple of weeks ago and hadn't met many people/ The days were long and you lived with your project partner, Yvonne. It seemed as though there was no escape from the work atmosphere, which funnily enough was fine by you as your job was your passion. You lived and breathed for your work.

Yvonne was Romania, but not from Uricani. She had arrived in Uricani the same time as you had and you had been given the task of surveying the National Park's endangered flora and fauna by the Ministry of Magic. Living and working together had forced you become friends quickly, and that’s how you ended up at the local pub for the first time since you’d arrived.

The pub had a friendly vibe when you entered. It was filled with local labourers blowing off steam after a hard weeks work. Yvonne and yourself occupied a small table near the back, reminiscing about your childhood and schooling years. Hearing about Yvonne's childhood and her schooling years at Durmstrang was fascinating to you. Yet Yvonne wasn’t here purely to enjoy your company – she was at the pub to score a date.

“Oh, he is good looking!” she exclaimed in a rushed whisper, placing her hand on your forearm and staring at a tall, dark haired Romanian who was chatting away to his friends.

You rolled your eyes. “You’ve said that about the last 5 men,” you said through a half sigh. “He can be as cute as a button but if you don’t talk to him then what’s the point?”

“Cute as a button? What does that mean?”

You smiled kindly at her confusion over the common English saying. “It means you should actually make yourself known to one of these guys.” That wasn’t what the saying meant at all but you were certainly getting over sitting around watching her lust over every single guy in here without making a move on one of them. 

“I am going to go talk to him!” she told in defiance. 

Your eyes widened in shock as she picked up her drink and sauntered over to the man. You had to stop yourself from laughing at her as she exaggerated her interest in him. In a few seconds of talking she had plonked herself down on his lap and was whispering something in his ear! N

As her movements became more intimate you decided to look elsewhere. Your eyes roamed around the room until they came to a stop. You locked eyes with a man sitting alone at a table, holding a pint of beer. He gave you a warm smile and then pointing towards Yvonne, his index finger lifted to his temple as he rotated it around in small circles to indicate that she seemed a bit crazy. You gave him a weary smile and nodded to indicate that you agreed with him. His smile widened and he pointed at himself and then the empty chair at your table. You nodded your head, allowing him to join you.

When the man stood up you let your eyes roam over his body. He was of average height, perhaps a head taller than yourself. His hair was a fiery red, the length looking newly grown and shaggy as it almost reached his shoulders. It was clear that he spent a lot of time in the sun due to the amount of freckles covering his face, which darkened his pale skin by a shade. He looked very fit. His arms were muscular and although his shirt was loose you could see how taut his stomach and chest were.

“Hi,” he said when he reached you, the same grin on his face. "I'm Charlie."

The first thing you noticed was his accent - he was English. Of course you hadn’t met many Romanians with red hair but despite the loud and confident way he spoke you found his voice comforting and homely. He offered you his large hand to shake and you were alarmed at how rough his skin was, the remnants of calluses and blisters still prominent. Your eyes travelled up from your adjoining hands, stopping to admire the scars on his forearm before lingering on his rounded bicep.

You gave him your first name. “I was hoping we were going to carry out this conversation purely through hand gestures,” you teased, scoring a laugh from him.

“Like charades?”

It was your turn to laugh. “I’m glad you speak English. My Romanian isn’t great.”

“How long have you been over here?”

“About 6 weeks now.”

“Work?” You nodded yes to his question. “I’ve been here two years for the same thing.”

“So you’re fluent in Romanian then?”

"Desigur. În principal în înjurături."

"...Well that backfired. Impressive.”

Charlie grinned again, glad you didn't speak much Romanian so you couldn't figure out what he'd said. "So, ah… your friend seems a bit -”

“Desperate?” you finished for him, his grin expanding across his weather beaten face. “No, she’s just a bit lonely here. She’s Romanian, but not from Uricani.”

“You guys should definitely come out here more often, we’re a friendly bunch.”

You rolled your eyes again, offering a laugh. “Well if everyone is as friendly as you….”

Charlie set his drink down on the table. “Nah, you won’t find anyone else like me here," he replied with a carefree smirk, a small twinkle in his eyes.

It wasn’t long before Yvonne wobbled back over to your table, unaware that you and Charlie were in a spirited conversation about Quidditch teams.

“He s’not as good-looking as I thought he’d be,” she slurred her words, slumping down in the seat next to you. Clearly she hadn’t managed to score with the guy she’d been chatting to.

You and Charlie exchanged a look though you directed your question to Yvonne. “Are you ready to head home then?”

“Yeah,” she agreed, standing up with a wobble. “Oh, who’s you?” she said densely, pointing her finger at Charlie and looking startled.

“Charlie,” he said, wrapping a caring arm around her shoulders and leading her to the door.

“Thanks,” you sighed, watching your drunken friend stumble around aimlessly on the vacant street once you had both let her go. You continued to watch her though, making sure no cars or people appeared. “It was nice to meet you, Charlie.”

You didn’t know what to do, you had had a great time with this guy but you didn’t want to be too forward.

He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Perhaps I’ll see you round?” He spoke so casually that you were sure that if you told him you never wanted to see him again he'd just smile and shrug it off.

Yvonne was by your side, her arm wrapped around you now as she wagged a finger in Charlie’s face. “What are you doin’ to my beautiful friend? You can’t touch her." She hiccupped.

Charlie took his hands out of his pockets to raise them up in the air in innocence. “I’m not touching her,” he responded, a small smile playing on his lips.

 **“And who are you, again?”** Yvonne slurred stupidly, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“ALRIGHT,” you said loudly before Charlie had to repeat himself to Yvonne. “Definitely time to be going. I’ll see you round, Charlie.”

You managed to get a firm grip of Yvonne’s arm and saw Charlie giving you a quick wave before the two of you disapparated home.


	2. "What ARE you doing?"

Weeks later you found yourself in the heart of Retezat National Park and knee deep in mud. Retezat was not only special to Europe for being one of the largest areas of undisturbed forest but also the primary home to the endangered plant ‘Campanula Romanica’. The whole reason you were here in Romania was to make sure that this incredible plant was being nurtured and cared for. Without Yvonne and yourself caring for it, Campanula Romanica could become extinct.

Speaking to the locals you had heard rumours that a team of dragonologists had been bringing their creatures into Retezat and letting them stomp right over the Campanula’s habitat! That bit of information had infuriated you to no end -  you couldn't believe these people had their own designated reserve to keep their dragons in but still brought them into Retezat! Why couldn’t they stick to their own area?

Exiting the muddy creek you stepped onto the forest floor and began inspecting the plants growing there. You wanted to check the texture of the soil and the overall health of the plants in this area for any trace of dragons.

"Look at the state of this,” you murmured, ushering over Yvonne. She placed some soil into a vial to sample back in the laboratory. “It’s got to be dragons unearthing all the plants,” you concluded, shaking your head. “Such a shame, if only they knew the damage they were doing.”

“Let’s get it tested before we come back and stimulate the ground,” Yvonne decided.

You had been in this area before, trying to confirm that Campanula grew here. It Campanula had grown here in the past then it would be much easier to get it growing and thriving in the same spot again. However if the soil was damaged here then there was no point wasting your time in this area and you’d have to move on in hope of finding another suitable planting spot _– if there was one._

Standing up from your kneeling position you carelessly dusted the dirt off your knees. As you stood you heard voices call out to each other in the distance.

You whispered to Yvonne to alert her that someone was approaching. As the voices grew louder you saw four men nearing you and to your surprise you identified one as Charlie. You hadn’t seen him since that night Yvonne had gotten drunk. 

When the men saw you they approached with caution, the leader’s wand held out arrogantly and pointed at you.

“Uite, hippies,” the man spoke in Romanian, but you recognised one word in English. Another man gave a gruff laugh of appreciation at his friends comment.

You glared the leader from the other side of the muddy river. “Lower your wand,” you demanded. You didn’t like the look of this fellow. “What’s your name and business here?”

The man pointed his wand at the muddy creek and with a simple spell the creek was left dry and bare. “What are you doing on our land?” he said in English, ignoring your question from before.

You scoffed. “Your land? You do realise you’re on protected grounds, right? Not too far from here live the Dacian tribe, one of the last tribes in Romania!” you rambled, unaware that these facts were useless to someone like him.

The man snorted and raised his eyebrows. “So? Am I supposed to care, girl?” He turned to look at Charlie, who you still hadn’t made eye contact with or acknowledged yet. “Weasley, you stay here - check out the area. We need to bring the Longhorn in tonight.”

Then it clicked. These men were the dragon-tamers, the ones using Retezat as a place to keep their excess beasts in. This only confirmed why the soil here was almost destroyed.

“This is not a dragon reserve!” Yvonne piped up, her tone quite shrill. “This forest is protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974! Does that mean nothing to you?”

The man shot you both a cocky look. “No,” he said, making his exit with the other men and leaving Charlie behind.

Charlie gave you a weak smile when you turned your attention to him. “Hi, again.”

The small jolt of happiness you felt that Charlie had remembered you vanished when you remembered why he was here. _So he was one of those stupid dragonologists, huh!_

“Charlie,” you began sternly, all niceties aside. “You can’t seriously be thinking about bringing a dragon into the National Park.”

“I’m afraid so,” he replied casually, not looking you in the eyes as he jumped down into the now dry valley of the creek and then up onto the land on the other side.

“Retezat is home to the Campanula Romanica,” you told him, stalking his steps. “ _Do you even know what that is?_ ” you snapped.

“It’s a flower or something, right?” Charlie answered politely though his tone edged on the irritated side.

“A flower? FLOWER?” you repeated, your anger getting the best of you. “It’s only the most endangered plant in Romania! It’s used in a number of important healing potions for both wizards and muggles, not to mention the benefits it has for the native animals and, – **what ARE you doing?** ” you cried out in frustration, ready to pull your hair out just from watching Charlie counting his steps between the trees and paying you no attention.

He raised his wand before swishing it in the air to cut a large tree in half. “Just doing my job.”

Charlie knew you were in your element and he could hear the passion in your voice as you spouted out environmental facts. Charlie did care about the native wildlife - of course he did - but he also had to comply with the rules his boss had given him. They’d been using the Park temporarily to keep dragons in as their designated reserve was full. When Charlie looked at your face that was lined with anger (and dirt) he had to remind himself that he worked with dragons, not flowers, and he couldn’t be the hero here even if he wanted to.

“Charlie, please,” you begged, still astounded at how kind this man had seemed the other week and how disinterested he was with you now. _Guess you shouldn’t have been too quick to jump to a favourable conclusion about people._

Yvonne grabbed you by your arm. “Come on (Your Name). There’s nothing else we can do here right now. Let’s get this sample back to the lab then we’ll be able to figure this out from there.”

“This is NOT over,” you yelled threateningly at Charlie's back as he got to work clearing the land for the large dragon.


	3. "What are you waiting for?"

The next day you were back at the same spot in the forest, thankfully no dragon to be seen. Yvonne had tested the soil quality last night and it had proven positive to holding traces of Campulana Romanica meaning that the soil was fertile enough to plant new seeds. So Yvonne and yourself spent the day exploring, restoring, digging, and planting in the area. Though you were disappointed that Charlie had removed some trees and shrubs, to your delight there was no sign of a dragon here to ruin the area.

The day drew to a close and Yvonne began packing up your supplies, magicking them safely into her little bag. Water sprouted from the end of your wand to nourish the newly planted seeds. Glancing at your wand made you aware of your dirty hands and legs. Should you turn your wand on yourself to get all the mucky soil and leaves off? Discouraged by the idea of walking through the forest wet and cold you decided a nice warm shower when you got home would be a lot more enjoyable.

As you crossed the still barren creek you used the same spell to fill the creek back up with water. _That’d teach those miserable gits to drain the creek if they come back._ No sooner had you begun thinking about Charlie Weasley and his environment ruining co-workers than the ground started to quake under your feet.

Yvonne grasped at your hand, the two of you staring simultaneously at the large dragon being led through the forest by the same four wizards. Two had their wands pointed at the creature and another two were holding onto thick ropes that wrapped around the dragons neck. You were awestruck by the magnificent beast and how well the dragonologists were controlling it. You snapped out of your trance when you remembered where they were taking the dragon and you hastily made a beeline for the scaly creature.

“Where do you think you’re going?” you asked the same dark haired man, hands placed firmly on your hips.

“Nu asta din nou,” he said to his mates with a chuckle.

You could tell whatever he had said was insulting. “Did you not hear me yesterday? You absolutely _cannot_ have dragons in this part of the Park,” you protested. The men continued walking; leading the dragon to the area Charlie had cleared yesterday.

The same area that you’d spent all day restoring.

The men continued to ignore your cries of disapproval but they did come to a halt when they saw that the muddy creek had been refilled with water.

Charlie looked your way. “Nice work,” he muttered.

Hearing the grin in his voice you whipped around to face him. His hair was tied back in a short pony tail and the dim sunlight highlighted his chiselled features, making him look more handsome than ever. He was wearing a simple white t-shirt and baggy pants, a tool belt sitting on his waist and a reel of rope tossed carelessly over his shoulder.

You cleared your throat, snapping out of your haze.“And I told _you_ not to bring the dragon here! But did you listen to me? No! You know very well that this Park is protected by the Ministry of Magic.”

  
The men had cleared the water from the creek again with their wands and were heading to chain the dragon temporarily to a nearby tree, stomping all over the delicate soil. You continue to walk behind Charlie, almost running to catch up.

“You can’t do this! This is so wrong, not to mention illegal. You could all lose your jobs if the Ministry finds out about this!”

The Romanian man whose name you didn’t know snorted. “ **What are you waiting for** then, girl? Report us to the Ministry.”

You opened and closed your mouth, your lips pressed in a thin line.

You knew you were being childish by threatening to tell on the dragonologists but technically they _were_ breaking the law. Living in such a remote area you’d come to realise that being a tattletale was not the best way to approach things, but Charlie’s boss didn’t seem to want a mature conversation about the situation. They had probably been using the Park for years and resented your team coming in and telling them they could no longer use the area.

Reaching your breaking point you threw your hands up in the air out of frustration and stormed off. You heard Charlie calling your name and you turned around to look at him, a scowl marking your face. He took a few steps closer to you.

“You shouldn’t come back to this area again. This dragon is recovering from some pretty serious injuries and it wouldn’t be wise to be here alone. I’m going to put a disillusionment charm over it so it can’t be seen by muggles but someone from my team will always be here watching. Do you understand?”

“Do you understand what I’m telling you?” you mocked immaturely. “Don't try and reason with me! You can't keep the dragon here.”

Charlie suddenly broke the intense and serious conversation by cracking a wide smile. “You’re going to come back here tomorrow, aren’t you?” he said as though he already knew the answer. He then reached up to your hair and brushed out a couple of leaves, grinning madly.

You smacked his hand away from you. “I’ll do whatever I bloody well please!” you retorted, spinning on your heel and leaving the forest with Yvonne.


	4. "Is that what I think it is?"

The next afternoon you entered Retezat National Park without Yvonne. Your work day had been spent at the small labratory in town where Yvonne sampled different soil types and you sat mapping the next area you’d explore in hope of discovering a trace of Campulana. However right now you were a woman on a double mission. A mission you anticipated was going to be dangerous, hence why you didn’t tell Yvonne. After work you trekked your way back through the Park until you reached the same empty creek. You frowned at the sight before you – you hated that magical folk had the power to change nature (usually for the worse) with a flick of their wand.

 _‘At least there are some people helping restore the land,’_ you told yourself rather snootily.

“I knew you’d come back.” A voice that held a hint of amusement interrupted your thoughts. “You shouldn’t be here.”

Charlie was leaning up against a tree, his hands resting casually in his baggy pant pockets. The top 3 buttons of his loose grey cotton shirt were undone and revealed a tiny sliver of his chest.

“Funny, that’s what I keep telling  _you_ ,” you shot back impolitely, turning away to face the sleeping dragon. “What are you doing here anyway?”

“I’m here waiting for you,” he replied. "I knew you'd show up sooner or later." You felt his chest mere centimetres away from your back. You tried to ignore the feeling in your stomach until you felt his mouth close to your ear, his breath warm on your neck. “So, what’s the big plan?” he whispered.

You blushed, which just made you more mad. What nerve he had! But apart from that, deep down you actually had no idea what to do with a sleeping dragon. In fact, wasn’t there a saying - _‘never tickle a sleeping dragon’_? Dumbledore had mentioned it once or twice in his yearly speeches.

“You’re not supposed to _wake_ a sleeping dragon,” you huffed, trying to sidestep the fact that you didn’t have a plan.

“That’s right, _you_ shouldn’t wake a sleeping dragon. _I_ could wake it for you, if it’d help.”

You knew he was teasing you but when he raised his wand you let out a yelp. “Wait!”

Charlie raised a cocky eyebrow. “Don’t you want to move it along? Away from your precious plant?”

You narrowed your eyes. “Yeah, sure, laugh it up, buddy. How would you like it if I was ruthlessly going around destroying your _precious dragons_?”

Charlie blinked, lowering his wand. He hasn’t really thought about that before. He thought dragons were simply marvellous creatures and he’d risk his life to save one. “I’ll show you something, alright?” he finally spoke, using his eyes to try and reason with you. He took a brave step closer to the dragon. “You stay there.”

His voice was stern so you nodded, not really wanting to get any closer to the scaly creature anyway. Charlie approached the dragon from behind, the rustling leaves alerting you to his location. Minutes later he came back out holding a large object.

Your eyes widened. **“Is that what I think it is?”** you said breathlessly. Charlie nodded and rolled the dragons egg over so you could get a proper look at the entire surface. You reached your fingertips out before quickly withdrawing them. “Oh, sorry. Can I touch it?”

He chuckled. “Of course you can.”

“It’s just, you know, some plants – you shouldn’t touch them because human interference, or any chemicals that we have on our skin, if they transfer... you know.”

Charlie smirked at your rambling, extending his arms so the egg was closer to you.

You trailed your fingertips over the eggs rough surface, your fingers tracing the patterned shell. This was the closest you’d ever been to a dragon’s egg. Your enthusiasm made you ignore how intently Charlie was watching you. 

Shortly after you had traced over the entire egg you pulled away. “What happened to her?” you asked, empathy taking over your emotions when you looked at the injured dragon.

“Her partner attacked her after mating. She was in a pretty bad shape when we first found her though she’s been doing better ever since she got here. She gave birth a few weeks ago,” Charlie explained. “We couldn’t keep her with the other dragons and she needed to have her egg close by to protect so we moved her here.”

Your heart stung with compassion for the beautiful lizard-like creature that was lying lazily on the ground. But Charlie hadn’t changed your made up mind.

“I need to show you something,” you stated, unconsciously grabbing his abrasive hand and pulling him through the Park. 


	5. "Why am I here, anyways?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a harder title :( But I tried!

The two of you had been hiking through Retezat for quite some time before Charlie asked where you were taking him.

You turned around to face him but continued walking backwards to keep up the pace. “You’ll see when we get there,” you replied ambiguously, a smug grin on your face until…

…your heel caught on a protruding root and you fell backwards, landing with a thump on your backside. Charlie let out a loud snort of laughter and offered you his hand, pulling you up from the ground with ease. You swiped at a bit of hair that had fallen into your face, desperately trying not to blush. You saw Charlie’s bicep tense and flex under your weight and quickly vanished the thought of what it would be like to touch his arm from your mind. Men shouldn’t be on your mind. Especially not a boyishly good looking, outdoors-loving, friendly smile-having DRAGONOLOGIST!

“You’re a klutz,” Charlie joked, snapping you out of your silly thoughts.

“If I’m a klutz then you're my hero,” you shot back, rolling your eyes and being rewarded with another good-hearted snort. “We’re almost there, if I’ve remembered my directions correctly…” you mumbled more to yourself than him.

Pushing past a large fern you finally arrived exactly where you wanted to. You were surrounded by tall green trees and thick shrubbery. The ground was fertile and smelt earthy and damp. This was the best nature had to offer. 

“Isn’t it wonderful?” You weren’t really looking for a response; to you this was heaven.

“Erm, yeah,” Charlie replied with a small frown. To him, whilst this place was undoubtedly beautiful, it looked no different from any other part of the Park he was so used to. Green plants and ferns, dirt floors, tall trees… now if you added a dragon into the picture, well THAT’D make this place cool.

Hearing the doubt and indifference in his voice caused a scowl to make its way onto your own face. You looked Charlie in the eyes, hands on your hips. “Alright, follow me,” you demanded, marching him to a tree stump.

Charlie didn’t hesitate to kneel down next to you in the dirt. You liked that in a person - someone not afraid to get ~~dirty~~ messy. He then leant onto his knuckles sinking ever so slightly into the soft soil to get closer to what you were going to show him.

After a few moments of looking back and forth between the tree and your loopy smile, Charlie broke the silence. “So, ah… **why am I here, anyways?** ” he asked with a sheepish grin.

“Campanula Romanica,” you whispered, pointing at the tiny purple flower.

“Oh, OH,” he caught on. “So that’s the little troublemaker. _Besides you_.”

You shot him a playful glare. Standing up in a huff you walked over to a large tree, resting up against it with your arms crossed over your chest. Charlie stood up and walked over to you. He was trying his very best not to upset you but to him that ‘special’ plant looked like a bloody weed! If you didn’t seem so insanely passionate about it he probably would have joked that his mum grew ‘em in their backyard at home.

Charlie crossed his own arms casually. “What’s up?”

“Oh, nothing,” you told him with a nonchalant shrug and self-satisfied smile. “We’re just waiting here 'til nightfall.”

“Oh are we?”

You nodded, shooting him a quick assuring smile, but after that silence fell between the two of you.

After a couple of moments you decided that you should keep Charlie entertained to pass time. “So… do you live here by yourself?”

“Yeah, I’ve got a place on the east side of town. You stay with your mate, don’t you? The drunk scientist,” he nicknamed Yvonne fondly.

You burst out laughing, appreciating his joke much more than Yvonne would’ve. “And how long have you been here again? A year was it?”

“Two,” he nodded. “Gets a bit lonely sometimes. My family are all back in England.”

“You must miss them, being gone for such a long time…”

“It doesn’t help that I come from a big family too,” he said with a chuckle. “More to miss.”

“How big is big?”

“I’m one of seven kids.”

You attractively choked on your saliva. “Seven?” you repeated, your eyes widening. “Your poor mother.”

“Almost all boys too,” he filled you in with a chuckle. “I’m the second oldest. Youngest is my sister, Ginny. I think mum had it alright until the twins were born.”

You snorted. “I doubt you were an innocent child… probably bringing home all sorts of creepy crawlies…”

Charlie grinned, but you caught the guilty looking expression on his face. “Hey, I’ll have you know I’m the perfect son!”

You rolled your eyes, muttering a smart arse response which made his grin widen and give your shoulder a shove. Looking up at the sky through the trees you realised that the sun was beginning to set in the south and that it was almost time.

“Charlie,” you murmured, triggering him to look at you. You shook your head and pointed towards the Campanula. “Watch."

Darkness fell on the forest and the purple flowers remained as bright as ever. Ten minutes later the forest would have been black if not for the Campanula. They shone like fairy lights on the ground, crawling up the trees and making the forest look absolutely magical.

You watched Charlies face take in the beautiful scene. “Impressed now?”

“Bloody brilliant,” he replied, walking closer to inspect the purple buds. “How is it doing this?”

“It carries a derivate of phenyl oxalate ester, mixed with fluorophor. Makes it very dangerous to use in potions if you don’t know what you’re doing. However for most animals it’s not toxic and humans can actually touch them,” you told him. Charlie outstretched his hand towards the purple flower that was shining like a beacon. “Gently,” you added quickly.

“I’ll be gentle,” he said, his grin growing mischievous again and you rolled your eyes. “It really is something special," he agreed softly.

You looked at the plant that you favoured so highly. “There’s not many left in Romania. They’ve been endangered for the last few years and we've been trying to restore and encourage them to grow again."

Standing up you observed Charlie for a moment longer. You would remember this moment, his rough hands delicately touching the plants soft leaves, his illuminated face showing a look of wonder and serenity.

Perhaps one day you’d be able to change his mind.


	6. "Who do you think you are?"

It had been months since you had first met Charlie and visited the pub that very first time with Yvonne. Deciding yet again that she wanted to give love another shot you found yourself sipping a drink at the same rowdy pub.

Yvonne was eyeing up a mysterious looking local from behind. You sat with your head propped up on your hand, grinning as you half-listened to your friend amp herself up to go and talk to the bloke.

“Hey, isn’t that your friend?” Yvonne asked abruptly, catching your full attention.

You didn't have any friends in Romania so there could only be one person she could be referring to. “Who?”

“The red-headed man. He is actually very good looking…” Yvonne whispered and you felt a pang of jealously hit you out of nowhere. “Let’s go talk to him!” she suggested, grabbing her drink and walking assertively over to Charlie and his friends.

Unfortunately, Charlie's friends turned out to be his co-workers and Yvonne didn’t seem to realise this until it was too late and you were already standing by their table.

“Well if it isn’t the environmental aurors,” the dark haired man said with a sneer.

“Hi,” Yvonne said, throwing a kittenish smile at Charlie.

 _‘What the heck, one minute ago she fancied the other bloke!’_ you thought with a scowl.

Perhaps she realised the other bloke was Charlie’s boss and therefore a massive and unreasonable git and had changed her mind. Envy surged through your body yet you did nothing to stop Yvonne – it wasn’t like you had feelings for Charlie, or any of these men who may as well be CRIMINALS in your opinion!

You watched as Charlie gave Yvonne his trademark grin, inviting her to sit down next to him. Great, now you were left standing awkwardly alone – hesitant to join the table but desperately wanting to obtain Charlie’s attention.

“Come to protest some more?” the man mocked you again. “Not the flowers!” he mimicked you before taking a swig of his drink.

In any other situation you probably would’ve laughed at the caricature of yourself. But right now all you could see was Charlie talking spiritedly to a tipsy Yvonne.

“And just **who do you think _you_ are?** ” you shouted at the man, a cocked eyebrow showing that you weren’t impressed.

“Huh?” he replied, looking agitated that he hadn’t reduced you to tears with his impression.

“You think you’re better than me because you don’t respect the environment and think you’re above the law or something? You make me sick, you good for nothing prat!” you yelled, unaware that the whole table, including Charlie, was staring at you.

You turned on your heel and stormed out of the pub.


	7. "Can you repeat that?"

Charlie stood up and gave the table a sympathetic look as if he was responsible for you and your unruly behaviour. Heading outside he grabbed your wrist before you could disapparate home.

“What?” you barked. “Why don’t you go talk to Yvonne?” You knew it was a low blow and perhaps gave away more information about your feelings than you would’ve liked. It also made you realise that whilst you did have a good reason to dislike Charlie’s boss some of your anger tonight may have been misdirected.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

You breathed a sigh of relief – at least Charlie hadn’t meant anything by chatting to Yvonne; he probably hadn’t even realised she was flirting with him. “Nothing, it doesn’t matter,” was your sour response.

He laughed lightly. “You’re a pretty full on chick, aren’t you?”

“What does that mean?” You furrowed your brows, already feeling quite sensitive after his boss had just mocked you.

Charlie let go of your wrist and took a step back. A small part of you wanted to disapparate home and pretend none of this ever happened but looking at Charlie’s friendly face, his eyes radiating that enticing warmth and concern for you… well you just couldn’t bring yourself to leave.

“What was all that commotion in there about?”

“You heard the way he spoke to me!”

Charlie twisted his lips from side to side, tilting his head slightly. “He was just having a laugh…”

You gave Charlie a look that told him you bloody well knew his boss was not just ‘having a laugh’. But you had to admit that it was clever of Charlie to take his bosses side rather than a woman he barely knew.

“I thought you understood my stance on the whole forest matter,” you said softly, feeling quite pathetic.

“I do,” Charlie replied earnestly, looking a bit worried as you swatted away a loose tear. “Don’t worry about it, come here.” He wrapped an arm around your shoulder, pulling you against his hard chest.

You shrugged off his arm, no matter how comforting it felt having it around you. You just couldn’t let these men get the better of you. “No, I’m fine, honestly. I’m not changing my mind on the matter.”

Charlie snorted. “That’s not surprising. Are you always this stubborn?”

“I’m not stubborn, I’m passionate!” you argued, causing Charlie to roll his eyes. “It’s not my fault a bunch of no good, dragon-loving, environment-ruining, plant-hating, pin heads invaded one of Romania’s most significant National Parks!"

“ **Can you repeat that?** " Charlie laughed at your preposterously long insult. “You think I’m a no good, dragon loving, environment ruining, pin head, ‘ey?”

“Don’t forget plant-hating,” you murmured.

Charlie just laughed harder. “How could I forget.” When you met his eyes you were glad to see that he was still smiling.

“I think I should go home. I guess Yvonne’s enjoying herself in there with you all… make sure she gets home safely, will you?” You sounded more bitter than you anticipated.

Charlie peered back in the pub. “She looks pretty content with Richard.” You had a peep in and noticed Yvonne chatting with one of the other men on Charlie’s team. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, we’ve moved the Ukranian Longhorn.”

“Oh?” you queried, your eyes widening in hope.

Charlie raised his hands up apologetically. “Don’t get too excited. We’ve got a Peruvian Vipertooth coming in tomorrow so I suggest you don’t go visiting that area again,” he warned.

_Well, you’d be the one to decide what you would or wouldn’t do._


	8. "Must I always come in and save the day?"

You didn’t visit the spot where the dragon was kept the next day like Charlie had expected. He stood waiting around in case you did show up. Part of him was relieved when you didn’t appear the next night as well, though when he didn’t see you the night after that he felt his stomach knot. Charlie was becoming anxious for you to appear and realised that it wasn’t because he wanted you to put yourself in a dangerous situation, but because he wanted to spend time with you.

When Charlie left the area briefly to search for some firewood you had made your entrance, missing each other by only a few minutes. That was when you first saw the Vipertooth. This time you approached the great scaly creature feeling courageous now that you had somewhat of a plan. The dragon slept calmly, not a hint of smoke escaping from its nostrils as it snored peacefully. You raised your wand, unlocking the chain that kept it tied to a concrete post. Next you used your wand to conjure a powerful levitatation spell to lift the entire dragon into the air. What you had planned to do was move it as it slept to a new location. _Easy peasy._ What you hadn’t planned for was the dragon waking up.

The Vipertooth blinked its heavy eyelids thrice, stretching out its thick limbs. Shocked, you dropped your wand and took a step back in awe. The dragon took on a fearless stance, its large yellow eyes staring at you. The Vipertooth was primarily a copper colour; however its belly and wings were a golden yellow. It had the ability to make someone want run a million miles away yet you stood frozen, watching in absolute wonder. It hadn’t breathed fire at you so when you were fairly certain that it was calm you picked your wand back up and moved closer. With a swish of your wand the chain around its neck flew into your hand and you began to walk slowly, guiding the dragon through the forest behind you. You hadn’t planned exactly where you were going to take it yet – anywhere but the National Park was good enough.

“OI!” you heard someone cry, the sound of someone pushing their way through the tree's hitting your ears. “What do you think you’re doin’?” Charlie came to an abrupt halt a few meters away, cautiously shifting his gaze from the dragon to your wand that was controlling the chain.

“What does it look like?”

“[Name], I don’t think that's a good idea,” Charlie advised, holding his hands up at chest level, his palms facing you. “You need to get away from the dragon.”

“And you need to keep your dragons away from our forest,” you replied coolly in retaliation. You felt really confident and proud of yourself, walking this magnificent creature through the forest like it was your mum’s greyhound.

“No, you don’t understand. You need to get away from the dragon, _now."_

This was the first time you’d seen Charlie actually freak out about something. Usually he was so relaxed, casual, and calm with his words that his urgent tone actually raised the tiniest bit of doubt in your mind.

“It’s fine…” You were trying to assure yourself more than him. The creature hadn’t breathed the tiniest bit of fire yet and seemed docile with only a bit of blue looking spit drooling from its large mouth.

“It’s not fine, _it’s furious_.”

No sooner had Charlie spoken the words than the Vipertooth let out a thunderous roar and you suddenly realised that it wasn’t spit coming out of its mouth, but venom. Your eyes widened and you took a step backwards your wand still raised.

“Stupefy,” you yelled, aiming your wand at the dragon's chest.

The spell seemed to have little effect on the beast and it let out another roar. This time venom sprayed out of its mouth and you shielded your eyes with your arms to stop it hitting your face.

“STUPEFY!” Charlie bellowed and the beast froze for a sheer moment. He yelled another spell and the Vipertooth let out a vicious cry, rearing back with its eyes shut tightly in pain.

Sufficiently and temporarily blind, it took one more stunning spell before the dragon collapsed on the ground.

You hadn’t even realised you were shaking when Charlie ran over to you. “ **Must I always come in and save the day?** ” he said on queue. He turned your arms around in his hands. “Look, you’re hurt."

“What?” you asked thickly. “What? No, I’m fine.” You were secretly happy that Charlie wasn’t mad at you, even though he had every right to be.

Charlie put your arm around his shoulders and stood up, bringing you up with him and walking you back to where his backpack was. “You are NOT fine. Lucky, maybe, but not fine.”

He showed you the back of your forearms. Chunks of skin had dissolved. It looked like you’d been attacked by a flesh eating bacteria and smelt just as bad as rotting flesh would do. 

“It’s the venom,” he explained before you could ask. “These ones aren’t fire breathers; they use their venom to inflict pain. You are bloody lucky she's injured, weak, and relatively docile otherwise you'd probably be a pile of guts on the ground."

Charlie sat you down and took out a small potion from his bag to apply to your injured arm. You clenched your teeth, hissing in pain as the potion stung the raw wounds.

Charlie studied your face. “You ok?” You gave him a weak nod, permitting him to carry on. “I’m going to bandage up your arm, but I need to put some pressure on it, alright?” You shut your eyes and Charlie tilted your chin up with his index finger, staring into your eyes. “Ready?”

You nodded again and began bouncing your legs instinctively in anticipation. Charlie wrapped the soft cloth around your arm tightly, pressing down on the bandages to ensure no dirt would get in and the potion would stick. When the pain subsided you opened your eyes and saw Charlie had his hand on your thigh to stop its quivering.

“You’ll be alright now. Might have a bit of a scar."

"I'll have to write home to tell mum about that."

Then you sat silently for a few moments, feeling like a complete fool. You knew you’d have to thank Charlie for saving your life, which meant admitting that you’d been stupid for trying to handle the dragon by yourself. You couldn’t work up the nerve to apologise just now.

Charlie seemed to sense what you were thinking. “I did tell you not to come here, didn’t I?” he mused.

You decide to stroke his pride. “You really are my hero."

He laughed. “Your Prince Charming, perhaps?”

“Well, there was a dragon involved…”

“Yeah, too bad there was no princess to save, just a troublesome witch.”

Your scowl playfully found its way back onto your face, Charlie rewarding you with his trademark wide grin that always reached his eyes.


	9. "Could you just shut up for five seconds, please?”

You had to admit it; if you weren’t forced to dislike Charlie by default then you’d probably be quite good friends with him and would’ve definitely asked him out for a drink. He was truly the most charming, easy going man you had ever met and you felt your heart flutter at the most childish things — when he touched your hand or cracked a joke, heck even just looking at him had your stomach flipping involuntarily. But he was, of course, a conflict of interest. Imagine the paperwork you’d have to fill out if you dated him! Let alone the morality of it all…

Yvonne and yourself had spent the day roaming Retezat trying to find any other trace of Campanula Romanica growing there. In this new area you were investigating you had only found one measly bud but it was better than nothing for this rare and endangered plant. You had spent hours testing the strength of the roots and soil before planting another Campanula in the same area.

As the day drew to a close you began the stretch home. You had to get outside the boarder of the National Park before you could apparate back to the laboratory.

“What’re you thinking about?” Yvonne asked during the middle of the hike.

“Huh?” you replied thickly. Her voice had just snapped you out of thoughts about Charlie, and you certainly weren’t about to tell her th-

“You’re thinking about that red-headed man, aren’t you?”

“Charlie? No.”

You tried to keep your face straight, but Yvonne noticed you suddenly fidgeting nervously with your bag. “Ooooh,” she cooed. “You are thinking about him.”

“I’m not thinking about that insufferable git.” You tried to sound like you agreed with what you were saying but it mustn’t have worked very well because Yvonne was back on your case a few moments later.

“He is very handsome, you know,” she informed you.

_As if you hadn’t noticed._

No, you definitely did not thinking about how his strong arms had held you after you’d been struck by the Vipertooth. You definitely never thought about his bright blue eyes that crinkled at the corners when he smiled, his shaggy red hair, and his sun kissed freckly skin. How he teased you mercilessly yet always seemed to make you laugh.

_Nope, you never thought about Charlie. Never._

“I don’t love Charlie Weasley," you blurted out.

Yvonne raised her eyebrow. “Uh, I didn’t say you loved him, [Name].” Yvonne began to laugh and your mistake.

You discreetly popped open the top few buttons of your shirt. This conversation was making your body heat up intensely and you couldn’t afford another Freudian slip like that.

“There’s no way I’d fancy someone like him. We could never be together. He’s not only ruining the Dacian tribes land but he’s breaking the law. And on top of that, after being informed that he’s breaking the law — _what does he do?_ He continues to do it! No, no way would I fancy someone that thick who — "

“But the way he looks at you… everyone can _tell_ he likes you. You might not see it, but everyone else notices. We have a saying in Romania – that ‘love is without reason’. I think you should think about – “

“No, it’d never work between us, we’ve got different priorities — "

 **“Could you just shut up for five seconds, please?”** Yvonne said, stopping abruptly. You looked a bit surprised at her outburst but heard her out. “Charlie is crazy about you. That night at the pub when you insulted his boss and walked out Charlie stood up for you when he came back inside! And his boss didn’t look happy about it either. A man like that is hard to find.”

Your mind went blank. Charlie had told you his boss had just been 'having a laugh'; he couldn’t be on your side. No, Yvonne couldn’t be right — after all she was tipsy that night anyway.

“But the way you act around him, the poor guy doesn’t have a chance!” she continued. “Blabbing on about how he’s breaking the law, how he’s ruining the environment… sometimes strong women can come off a bit intimidating.”

“Good. I’m not going to play the fairy princess in this story,” you shot back, your tone sounding vicious. “And I’m not backing down. If he’s afraid of someone with a passion as strong as his then he’s chasing the wrong witch.”


	10. "How many days has it been?"

Charlie Weasley was lying back on his double bed after a long day at work. His pet lizard, Moss, ran up and down his naked arms leaving barely-there scratches on his tough, already scarred skin. Charlie’s thoughts began to drift away from his busy day and onto something much more relaxing.

Charlie remembered the first time he saw you. He had watched you take a seat with your friend at the pub and then taken his seat strategically so he could perve on you without making it too obvious. He’d convinced himself that if he was too shy to chat you up (doubtful, Charlie was a pretty confident bloke), but if he absolutely couldn’t bring himself to go over to you then at least he’d get a good look at you. You had to be the prettiest witch he’d seen in months. To his luck (and not long after he’d sat down) your friend had left you alone, giving Charlie a chance to make a move.

Charlie wasn’t usually shy around females but he had felt _almost_ embarrassed the moment you had caught him staring at you – almost embarrassed. When you had allowed him to join you at your table he felt that familiar sense of courage re-enter his body. Charlie was pretty good at chatting up birds, especially in Romanian because they all seemed to love his English accent. Anyway, Charlie could’ve sworn that you were checking him out when he’d walked over to you, which helped raise his self-esteem. Chatting with you for the small amount of time he had had was like a dream – you’d been funny and not shy of a joke, friendly, nice, confident, clever… he could go on in ways that’d make his older brother Bill tease him mercilessly.

Yet you were different to other birds he’d hit on. It’s not as though he’d only dated trolls before, there’d been a couple of good looking witches around here that had kept him entertained for a while. He had convinced himself that he couldn’t just ask you back to his – he wanted to at least take you out properly before that. But that wasn’t what he had really approached you for anyway, unless you’d been a very forward lass who invited him back to yours for a shag… which he would’ve been mad to say no to. It was to his dismay that you suddenly decided to leave. He tried his hardest to convince you to come back to the pub and pray he’d see your lovely face again so he could have another shot at wooing you! Then when he didn’t see you the night after, or the next weekend he became quite angry at himself for letting you slip away so easily.

When he saw you a few weeks later he felt his heart skip a beat. What were the odds? _But seriously_ – what were the odds that he’d suddenly become the bad guy and any chance he’d had with you was blown out the window? He cursed himself for not bringing up work that night at the pub when he met you. Would’ve made things a lot quicker.

He’d almost laughed when you’d told off his boss a few weeks ago. Charlie had spoken a few times to Andrei about the situation - tried to convince him that they should move the dragons elsewhere but he wouldn’t even listen to Charlie, let alone you. Charlie wanted to tell you all the effort he’d gone to but at the same time he didn’t want you to know how he felt about you. So the problem now was how would he get you to fancy him? He wasn’t a complete idiot; he’d seen the way you reacted when he touched you, the way you’d scowl playfully at him when he flirted with you. You never pushed him away – but you never gave him any real sign of encouragement either.

Charlie massaged his temples, exhaling deeply in frustration. At 21, he’d never had a girlfriend. He’d met women at the pub and around town that he’d had a short lived relationship with, but after a couple of weeks they’d get fed up with his lack of commitment. He didn’t want a woman who constantly needed attention anyway; he wanted one who understood that his job took up the majority of his attention. Hell, he’d known female dragons longer than he’d dated a female witch!

“How many days has it been since I fell for that troublesome witch?” Charlie mused to Moss, scratching the little critters body. “Too bloody long it’s been,” he hummed. “Too bloody long.”

The only response he got was Moss’s tongue flicking in and out of his mouth as though he was taunting him.


	11. “Do you think acting this way pleases me?”

You didn’t know why you went back there, or perhaps you did know the reason why and didn’t want to admit it.

When you left your house this morning it was still dark outside however by the time you arrived at your destination the suns rays had begun to peep through the trees and the birds were chirping above you. You sat down in the dirt, leaning against a wide tree trunk and watching the sleeping dragon from a far. It didn’t look so fierce now; it looked peaceful and serene as it breathed in and out deeply. You were aware that it was under a strong sleeping draught and without that you’d be in serious trouble.

“It’s a pretty good sight, ay?”

You recognised Charlie’s voice and looked up to meet his blue eyes. You went to stand up and he offered his hand which you took. Once you were up you brushed all the dirt from the back of your pants.

“Is it your job to guard it all day? Surely you could cast a shield charm or – “

“It’s my job to make sure naughty little witches don’t go causing trouble,” Charlie told you with a smirk that widened into a grin when he saw your disapproving expression. “I’m only joking; we just need someone here to make sure these injured ones are doing OK. This one’s pretty weak and under a strong draught. Shouldn’t be too much of a hassle."

“Yeah? Well the Vipertooth seemed pretty up for it when she was shooting venom at me, _despite_ being injured,” you grumbled, crossing your arms over your chest.

“She was fond of you.”

“Yes well it's funny, most people have a similar reaction to me as she had,” you joked, remembering the Vipertooth's mouth frothing with venom as it stared menacingly at you. That had made for some frightful nightmares.

“Yeah she does have good taste,” Charlie teased, eyeing you up.

You pulled your arms tighter over your chest, feeling uncharacteristically self-conscious. “So, uh, apart from monitoring me, what else would you be doing today?”

“The rest of the team will arrive in the next couple of hours. We’ll provide food for her, tend to her injuries… stuff like that,” Charlie explained casually. “Gotta get her back into shape so we can start breeding her. And what’re you up to today? Apart from stealing dragons....” he said with an accusing smirk.

You shot him a playful glare. “I wasn’t going to steal another dragon.” You held up a glass tube. “I just wanted to see how the soil was going.”

He scoffed. “You wanted to check soil?”

“It’s important to me,” you replied with a sheepish grin. You then placed your hands on your hips, defensive over Charlie’s last comment. “If the dragon hasn’t ruined the soil then we may still be able to restore the place and grow Campulana here.”

“You don’t give up easily do you?”

You could sense a bit of tension arising and you remembered Yvonne’s words a couple of weeks ago – how sometimes you were too stubborn and too vicious towards others you disagreed with. Her words unfortunately couldn’t change your ingrained need to argue your point.

“I don’t see why you can’t move the dragon elsewhere."

“This is where I was instructed to keep her and it’s where she’ll stay until I hear otherwise.”

“But it doesn’t have to be like this…” you started, taking a step forward in defiance.

 **“Do you think acting this way pleases me?”** Charlie finally snapped. “I feel terrible, knowing now what I’m ruining. And I’m not only talking about the plant that you love so much, I love nature as well as dragons, and -”

You chose to ignore what else Charlie may be alluding to and cut in. “So tell your boss to – “

“You think I haven’t had a word with him, [Name]? He won’t listen to me.”

Charlie must be in an awful position: wanting to do right by the law, but wanting to keep his job – which was his passion. Could you reach a compromise?

“Then don’t ask him, just do it. In fact, you and I, we could do it together, before the rest of your team come.” Charlie’s look of frustration turned to a smirk and before he could open his mouth to make a lewd comment you quickly corrected your sentence. “What I meant was let’s move the dragon somewhere that I know is safe. What do you say to that?"


	12. "Where are we?"

Every millisecond Charlie stared at you felt like an hour. Finally, he tore his eyes away from yours and began to walk away. Surprised by his behaviour you quickly chased after him for lack of anything else to do that stand around with a snoozing dragon.

“Charlie?” you called out. You ignored how nervous your voice sounded, afraid that you’d actually made the easy-going Weasley mad at you. “Charlie, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so demanding. I’m sorry.”

Charlie kept up his pace and ignored your words. You continued to follow him through the dense shrubs, hoping he’d at least say something, even if it was to stop following him. When he came to an abrupt stop you almost crashed smack bang into him and had to place your hand on his back to keep your balance.

 **“Where are we?”** you asked. 

Charlie finally turned around, his eyes scanning the trees and his index finger placed on his thumb in thought. “We left the National Park a few minutes ago so this area isn’t protected land as far as I know. Can you do a quick check on this area before I bring the dragon over?”

You tried to gulp but your mouth was dry. Was Charlie really going to move the dragon for you? Instead of verbally responding you could only nod your head ‘yes’. 

You quickly got to work making the area suitable for the Vipertooth by making sure to check the area for any noticeable endangered flora or fauna. Even though you found nothing but common trees and ferns you still cringed when you magicked them out of the way to allow space for the dragon. You had to remind yourself that this area wasn’t sacred or heritage listed so it wasn’t illegal to chop down the trees. Swishing your wand you muttered a spell that moved the wood into a pile and instantly got on your knees to inspect the soil. After being completely satisfied that there were no traces of Campulana you stood back to admire your work. 

Charlie arrived moments later with the dragon. He had taken off his shirt and had on large, thick gloves that reached his elbows. In his hands he held a thick rope that was tied around the dragon’s neck. The Vipertooth seemed to be in some sort of sleepy haze, moving slowly on its feet, each thudding step shaking the ground. With a flick of his wand Charlie chained the dragon tightly back to a huge boulder.

“Good job,” he said, looking at the area you’d provided for the dragon. “And there’s nothing wrong with this land? I’m not going to get a lecture on how its home to the rare Romanian Sunflower or something?” he said, mocking exasperation. 

When Charlie realised that you didn’t look amused his grin quickly faded from his face. He took a step closer to you, waving his arm around to catch your attention.

“[Name]? Are you ok?”


	13. "What's so funny?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I got a super cute review that made me wanna update ! Enjoy xxx

“Charlie Weasley, are you for real?” you said, doubt lining your voice and your eyes telling him that you couldn’t believe this was happening. “You’re actually _agreeing_ to keep the dragon here?”

Charlie addressed the situation as casually as he usually did with a shrug and a grin. “Whatever pleases you.”

Charlie wasn’t just trying to win you over with this; he honestly knew that something needed to be done about the whole situation. Like you, he had tried numeral times to convince his boss to change the location of where they kept new dragons. Andrei had chosen the location purely for convenience and didn’t care about what or who he affected. Although he loved creatures Charlie did care about the environment and wanted to do right by it.

“You did this for me?” you asked.

Charlie waved his hand, perhaps purposely dismissing your comment because there was a slight blush tinting his freckly cheeks. “You and your troublesome plant…” he trailed off.

As soon as Charlie said that a huge grin spread across your face. You still couldn’t believe that you’d finally convinced him to move the dragon. When Charlie matched your grin you pounced. You threw yourself at him, flinging your arms around his neck and wrapping your legs around his hips. You felt him take a step back in shock but his arms were soon around you, holding you up. You lent your upper body back ever so slightly so that you could pepper his cheeks with kisses.

“You. Are. The. Best,” you said, emphasing each words with a light kiss. You squeezed Charlie’s shoulders before breaking free from his hold. Once your feet hit the ground you jumped up and down, clapping your hands together in happiness.

Charlie's first reaction was to double over and erupt with friendly laughter.

You ceased your celebrations and tilted your head sidewards. ****“What’s so funny?”** **

Charlie shook his head, a wicked grin plastered all over his face. “I can’t believe after all this time the only thing I had to do to get you to kiss me was move the dragon. If only I had known that months ago.”

You froze – you hadn’t even realised you’d ‘kissed’ him in the normal sense of the word. “Uh, well, they were only 'thank you' kisses, Charlie,” you spluttered out quickly. “Strictly business.”

“Alright, whatever you say," he said with a firm smirk, not buying your pitiful excuse.

Happiness drained from your eyes as you remembered one important factor that was stopping the situation from being resolved. “Charlie,” you began, though he a hand up, palm facing you and indicating for you not to bother explaining. You ignored his movement. “No, really, Charlie. What about your boss? What if he finds out you moved the dragon?”

Charlie shrugged his shoulders again. “He’s a prat... Don’t worry about it. I'll give the team an excuse today why I moved Nelly and make sure they don't tell Andrei..." 

"Nelly?"

Charlie jutted his head towards the Vipertooth to indicate that was her name. 

"Ah." But you didn’t believe that he could keep his boss from finding out he'd moved the dragon. “Charlie, I don’t want you to think I’m only behaving like this because I ‘got my way’ or something. I care about the dragons too, you know. I want the best for them – “

“If you keep talking like that it'll be my turn to kiss you,” Charlie interrupted, a mischievous look in his eyes.

“Couldn’t have that,” you murmured. You bit you lip and lowered your eyes from Charlie’s for a moment as a sad look took over your features.

It was all fine now but you were anxious about what would happen when Charlie’s boss found out. Was Charlie still going to fancy you when he was out of a job? And what about if his boss told him to move the dragon back? That was another scenario that was likely to occur. With so many potential problems would this ever work out between the two of you?

You knew what you had to do.

“Charlie, I’ve got to speak to my boss.” Swiftly turning on your heel you began to walk back to town.


	14. "Where are you going?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guyyyss lets finish this !

Charlie was hot on your tail as you pushed through the dense shrubbery to find the edge of the park to disapparate back home. You ignored the stinging cuts your legs were getting from the sticks scraping against you.

  
Charlie grabbed your arm to bring you to a stop. “I’m not sure if that’s a good idea,” he said. The way his eyes implored yours told you that he was nervous.

  
Although your decision was quick, you knew it wasn’t brash. You had been thinking about doing this for a long time. “I have to make sure that Andrei won’t make you move the dragon back.”

  
“[Name], this is Romania. It’s not like England. Do you realise how corrupt some people are here?”

  
“The last thing I want to do is get you in trouble, Charlie! But don’t you get it? Something needs to happen. We’ve got to finish it once and for all.”

  
Charlie took another look at your determined face and sighed, accepting once again that he wouldn’t be able to change your mind. He bid you farewell and headed back to guard the Vipertooth as you continued your walk back to the edge of the forest.

  
Yvonne was mid way through eating her lunch when you apparated into your kitchen. She jumped, her hand flinching and causing her to spill celery soup down her grey blouse.

  
“Sorry!” you said. With no time to spare you moved like a whirlwind to the fireplace and grabbed some floo powder. You lit the fireplace with your wand and ducked your head to step into the magical flames.

  
“What’s wrong?” Yvonne asked, anxiously teetering around the fireplace. **“Where are you going?”**

  
There was no time to explain. “The Ministry of Magic,” you spoke clearly, simultaneously throwing the powder into the green flames and disappearing.

  
The Department had linked your fireplace to the Ministry for check-up appointments and emergencies. As Yvonne had attended the last meeting this would be your first time back in England since you left. You deemed this an emergency.

  
Arriving moments later inside the cold marble building you stepped out of the fireplace and brushed off as much soot from the front of your outfit as you could. Little did you know the soot probably disguised the multiple grass stains you had on your pants. Dirt and grass stains were basically part of your attire. Once you had reached the lift you pressed number 5 - the Department for the Protection of Magical Flora and Fauna and waited impatiently, tapping the tip of your brown boot against the hard floor.

  
As the doors of the lift opened you walked passed the secretaries desk and opened your boss’s office door without knocking. “Mr Parker, I need to speak to you,” you stated, ignoring the secretary’s cry of protest as she scrambled to get up from her desk and drag you away from her bosses office.

  
The Departments Minister Harold Parker looked up from the piece of parchment in front of him. “Miss [Surname]. I wasn’t expecting you. Is there some sort of problem?” He looked over at his secretary.

  
“She hasn’t made an appointment,” she told Parker. Her eyes flashed towards you and she gave you an agitated look and crossed her arms.

  
“It’s important,” you interjected. “I need to report some illegal activity that is hindering our Romanian project.”

  
Parker nodded at the secretary who gave you one last fleeting look before leaving and closing the door behind her. Parker turned his gaze back to you, pushing his glasses up his nose. His hand gestured towards the empty chair in front of his desk. “Please explain, [Surname].”

  
You took a seat and looked at the large cabinet behind Parker, trying not to get distracted by all the wonderful plants he had in jars. You breathed in a deep breath before beginning the tale.

  
“As you may or may not know there is a large dragon sanctuary located nearby the Retezat National Park.” You paused, thinking about how you should phrase your next sentence. “In the last month I’ve seen some dragonologists using the Park to keep their dragons due to overcrowding at the sanctuary. This disruption is threatening our attempts at reintroducing Campulana Romanica to the area.”

“Have you spoken to the dragonologists?” Parker asked you.

“I have. Only one of them has helped me so far. His name is Charlie Weasley, his father also works for the Ministry. Charlie assisted me today by moving the Vipertooth off the protected land; however I fear that this is only a temporary fix. We need to make sure that in the future the Park won’t be at threat by foreign creatures,” you concluded.

Parker peered at you for a moment before finally speaking. “Thank you for letting me know, [Surname]. I will make sure that the correct people are contacted.”

You gulped. Parker was a man of few words and you knew you would not be able to get any more information from him about his plan of action.

You hoped for the love of Merlin that this wouldn’t backfire on you.


	15. "So, now what?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a note to say if you read my other HP fics I haven't abandoned them, theyre just on the backburner whilst I finish this Charlie fic whilst I've still got inspiration!

Arriving back at your tiny flat a few hours later you retired to your room without a word to Yvonne. Selfishly, you didn’t want to discuss the conversation you’d just had with Parker even though Yvonne was just as much as part of the project as you were. Flopping down on your bed you tried to distract yourself by reading a muggle book about carnivorous plants. Your mind kept wandering to Charlie, if he was OK and what procedures the Ministry of Magic had already enforced on the dragonologists. You had no idea how long it’d take for the news to reach Charlie’s boss and team. Dragon sanctuary’s required staff 24 hours a day so Charlie may have already been contacted by his Department.

  
At the moment all you knew was that the waiting game was going to feel horribly long and you weren’t going to get much sleep tonight.

  
\--

  
The next morning you woke up later than you normally would have if it were a usual working day for you. The reason behind this was that you thought if you awoke later then perhaps you could avoid Yvonne. It was Yvonne’s banging in the kitchen that actually got you up out of bed. You had been lying staring at the ceiling remembering one evening you had been messing about in the Park collecting leave samples when Charlie found you.

  
Charlie had told you that he was doing a check of the area to secure it for the night when he stumbled upon you but you knew he had secretly wanted to see you so that he could annoy you. You were minding your own business walking along the waters edge examining the leaves close to the water when your right leg had slipped down the side of the river bank and you had gotten stuck up to your knee in mud. You remembered how Charlie had laughed for a whole two minutes watching you trying to pull your right leg out with both your arms elbow deep in mud, shouting at him to get your wand from your backpack. He watched you with a smirk on his face, his back leant up against a tree and his arms crossed in front of his chest. Finally he came closer and offered his hand which you grabbed and tugged so quickly that he would’ve fallen in if he hadn’t been prepared. Your muddy hands wrapped around his and he pulled you up  effortlessly, the squelching mud an odd treat to your ears as it meant you were free.

  
You had glowered at him and marched over to your backpack to grab your wand. When you turned back to Charlie he had a self satisfied grin on his face. You rolled your eyes and muttered something about almost losing your leaf samples before stomping off back to the edge of the forest alone.

  
Your fond memory was disturbed by the sound of smashing glass in the kitchen. It sounded like it came from a height which could only mean that Yvonne had knocked over one of your shelved plants.

  
Throwing your thin blanket aside you rushed into the kitchen.

  
Hands on your hips and ready to scold, a puzzled look took over your face when you saw Yvonne sheepishly putting her wand back into her pocket and your Arnica Montana still in its vase. “I had to do something to get you up,” she confessed.

You shot her a disgruntled look and took a seat at the kitchen table. You placed your head in your hands, a little mad that you had been tricked by her noise imitation spell. _At least your plant was ok._

  
“[Name], I have great news,” Yvonne continued without delay. “Very early this morning I went into the forest to get some samples and no dragons were in sight!”

  
Your head shot up. “What?”

  
“No where! I did not see one in the entire park. It is free from dragons!”

  
Your hands scrambled on the chair arms to push yourself up and away from the table. “Two minutes!” you called, already back in your bedroom to get ready.

  
Yvonne and yourself apparated to the edge of the Park. You basically ran to your growing site to see if Yvonne was telling the truth about the dragons.

  
She was.

  
There was no Vipertooth snoozing away on top of your Campulana. There were no dragonologists cutting down trees. There was no Charlie Weasley tossing a snitch into the air and catching it. There was no Charlie Weasley sitting on a stump of a tree eating an apple. There was no Charlie Weasley there to catch you when you turned up to cause trouble.

  
The soil looked disturbed but there was still plenty of it. The sun was out shining down through the tree tops and it was almost as though no dragon had ever been there.

  
You turned to Yvonne, shocked that everything had rectified itself so soon.

  
Yvonne was pulling up her elbow length gloves, her digging equipment already laid out on the ground on a brown cloth. **“So, now what?”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 more chapters guyssss


	16. "May I Come In?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOTE: You work for the Department for the Protection of Magical Flora and Fauna, Charlie works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday work days went by as slowly as you had imagined. There was no sign of Charlie or any of the dragonologists at any of your replanting sites. You were sure that Yvonne could tell something was wrong because you weren’t as invested in your work as you should have been for someone who had received such good news. You had reluctantly filled Yvonne in on the conversation you had had with your boss. She had guessed that something major must have happened for the dragonologists to retreat from the area without a fight. She hadn’t asked you anything about Charlie which you were secretly pleased about – perhaps if you didn’t mention him then nothing bad could happen.

When Friday night rolled around Yvonne couldn’t convince you to put on a brave face and head out with her to the pub. Yvonne had become good at heading out to the bar alone these last few weeks, and as you’d both been in Romania for a year now she was becoming a ‘local’ at the pub and had made friends with some of the other familiar faces there. You were happy that she felt that she was finally fitting in because you weren’t big into drinking or milling about at the pub for too long.

Therefore, it wasn’t suspicious of you to decline Yvonne’s invite to the pub tonight and stay home instead. Although you thought she had left half an hour ago your musings were interrupted by a knock on your bedroom door.

“What? Did you want to borrow my jacket after all?” you called out. Yvonne had been eyeing up your denim jacket before going out but had decided to brave it out in just her pretty dress.

“It’s me.” You instantly recognised Charlie’s voice and jumped up off your bed to straighten yourself out. **“May I come in?”**

You walked as calmly as you could to your bedroom door, closing your eyes and swallowing before opening it. “Hi,” you said once the door was opened and Charlie was standing in front of you.

“Sorry to burst in on you like this,” he replied with a wave of his hand. “Yvonne was at the pub alone and I was curious where you were... she gave me the key to your front door...”

“I was wondering how you’d broken in.”

“Wouldn’t have been too hard, your windows open.” Charlie pointed behind you to where your bedroom window was ajar. He smirked when you rolled your eyes.

You stepped forward making Charlie take a step back so you could exit your bedroom and close the door behind you. You didn’t want him to spot anything else in there that could be potentially embarrassing.

You walked towards the kitchen table to take a seat, summoning over a glass of water. The atmosphere felt tense. The back of your mind was trying to tell you that Charlie probably wouldn’t turn up at your house if he had gotten fired and hated you but your pessimistic side was still making this difficult to believe.

You took a big drink of water and watched Charlie take a seat next to you. “How’re ya?” he asked.

You placed the glass down on the table, a ring of water gathering at the bottom. “I’m alright,” you answered after a minute. “Do you want a drink?”

“No thanks.” Charlie was staring at you with a small look of amusement on his face. He could tell you were anxious as hell to ask him what had happened. He would’ve been lying if he said it wasn’t a tiny bit funny at how nervous and quiet you were being. You were never one to be this shy.

He watched you run a hand through you hair and cast your eyes downwards to the table. Charlie saw the dark circles under your eyes and your downturned lips that you would occasionally chew on. He could basically hear the internal conflict that was going on inside your head. He thought he should put you out of your misery.

“[Name], I wanted to let you know that –“

  
“Oh Charlie!” you groaned, covering your face with your hands. “Don’t tell me you’ve lost your job and you’re being sent back to England and I’m a stupid git who never should have come here and ruined your life?”

Charlie gave a short laugh. “What?” He shook his head in disbelief at your antics. “No.”

You raised your head and blinked some tears away. “You haven’t?”

“No, I haven’t lost my job.”

You breathed a small sigh of relief. “Merlin, I thought I’d ruined everything.”

“Not for me you haven’t,” Charlie admitted. You gave him a curious look, wondering what he was holding back saying. “You may have cocked things up for Andrei, though. He’s been suspended from our Department. Authorities came in Tuesday evening and took him away for questioning.”

Your face remained neutral. You weren’t sure if this was supposed to be good or bad news and how you should outwardly react to the information. For you, this was very good news. However for Charlie... he might not feel the same way you did.

Charlie took a guess at what you were thinking. “Don’t worry about it. Andrei was corrupt and dangerous. Not to mention a prat.”

Your face relaxed though you couldn’t bring yourself to smile just yet. “So what’s going to happen next?”

“Well,” Charlie hesitated. “We’ve been granted some land that was going to be used to build houses for the time being. So we won’t be bothering you anymore. And... I’ve been made manager of the team looking after injured dragons. Department came back Thursday and told me that they thought I’d be suitable for the position.”

Your eyes lit up and this time you couldn’t hide your happiness. “Really, Charlie? That’s great!” You grinned and wrapped your arms around his shoulders in an embrace, resting your chin on his shoulder. “I’m so happy for you,” you murmured.

You heard Charlie snort. “You’re lucky, [Name]. It might not have ended so favourably for me, you know.”

“I know, I was so worried, you have no idea...”

Charlie caught the same anxious look rising to your face. “You did the right thing,” he reassured you. “I understand why you did what you did.”

“I’m glad. I’m happy that my project can go ahead but I’m equally as happy that your dragons have a home... somewhere safe where they can be taken care of.”

Charlie gave you his trademark wide grin. “Sounds like you’re ready for that kiss.” The words had barely come out of his mouth before he leant forward and pressed his lips onto yours, that same rough, calloused hand coming to settle on the back of your neck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOME STRETCH PEOPLE ONLY ONE CHAPTER LEFT


	17. "What are you talking about?"

Two weeks later you had finally decided to accompany Yvonne to the pub. Little did she know that Charlie had snuck into your bedroom the night before to see you and had asked you to meet him at the pub the next night. So you did have extra incentive to join Yvonne for a night out. And you had enjoyed the first part of your night with your housemate and co-worker until she had spotted someone she fancied and buggered off to the bar. Charlie had been keeping his eye on your table and had come over to join you as soon as Yvonne had disappeared.

At first you were nervous to appear close to Charlie as he had come out with friends from work who you knew hated you, despite Charlie telling you otherwise. Yet as the night carried on and you had more to drink you eased up and sat closer to Charlie, leaning into him to whisper into his ear and touching his arm occasionally. Charlie didn’t seem to have any reservations in appearing fond of you in front of others and had his hand on your thigh the whole time.

Your sneaky touches were interrupted by Yvonne returning to your table. Hands were immediately whipped away from one another. “ **What are you talking about?** ” Yvonne asked, standing next to you with her hands on her hips and eyebrows raised.

“Nothing,” you both said in unison. _Definitely not talking about what you were going to do to each other when you got back to Charlie’s place tonight..._

Yvonne puckered her lips, not quite believing you, but not surprised by your answer. You’d always kept your feelings to yourself about Charlie even though Yvonne could see how bloody obvious it was that you both fancied each other from the moment you met. She couldn’t figure out if you two were just friends or had actually hooked up yet. _English people were so weird when it came to romance_.

“Anyway,” she continued, placing her drink on the table with yours. “I received some good news today that I forgot to tell you.”

“Oh?” Charlie and yourself said simultaneously again. You shot him a look to stop because he was making you giggle which was not typical of you.

Yvonne narrowed her eyes suspiciously again at Charlie but fortunately ignored your giggle. “Mr Parker contacted me by floo to say we’ve been given a grant to continue our work for another year!”

“No way!” you shrieked, jumping off your stool to hug Yvonne. “That’s great news. I had no idea!”

Yvonne matched your grin. “Isn’t it amazing, [Name]! We are so lucky.” She pulled away from you to look at Charlie. “Looks as though you have my friend here for another year.”

Charlie’s grin almost made you melt. “And a wonderful year it’ll be.” He raised his glass in celebration, clicking it together with yours and Yvonne’s glass’s. You and Charlie took a sip of your drink whilst Yvonne knocked hers back, placing the empty glass down with a thud.

You sat back down on the stool and felt Charlie’s hand grab yours under the table to give it a squeeze.

“Oh Merlin, look at him,” Yvonne whispered, ogling a pair of Romanians who had entered the pub. She turned to you. “Be my wing-woman,” she begged.

“Erm, I’m not really feeling up for it…” you bluffed, glancing at Charlie who had a stupid grin on his face. He clearly enjoyed watching you squirm.

“Really, look, his friend is alright…” Yvonne grabbed your hand that was on top of the table and made you look at the man’s friend who admittedly had the tall dark and handsome thing going on.

“He’s not my type,” you argued.

“You don’t have a type. That’s why you’re single,” Yvonne replied with a huff, giving you a glare before marching over to the men alone.

You groaned in embarrassment, aiming a slap towards Charlie who hadn’t stopped sniggering. He caught your wrist before you hit his arm and gave your hand a kiss. “You don’t have a type?”

“Nope.”

“I think you do,” he said, his smirk becoming more prominent on his freckled face.

You rolled your eyes. “Sod off, Charlie.” After a moment of him looking particularly smug you spoke again. “What’s your type?”

“Easy, you.” He didn’t even hesitate to answer. _Bastard._

A blush rose to your cheeks. “Don’t be daft...”

“You are my type!” he argued with a grin on his face. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot actually.” You let your mouth form an ‘o’ shape, both eyebrow raised and giving him time to explain himself. “You have a lot in common with your little troublesome plant.”

You frowned. “What do you mean?” Now Charlie did hesitate to reply, purposely so that he could watch you fidget. “C’mon, tell me!” you demanded.

Charlie laughed. “Ok. Well at first the plant comes off as a bit of a troublemaker. Didn’t seem that impressive, really kind of annoying,” he began, enjoying the look on your face. “But,” he continued quickly before you could smack him, “then you learn a bit more about the plant and you realise how important it is – not only is it absolutely stunning and enthralling, but it’s so useful and rare. It’s a very important part of this world.”

“I can’t decide whether to hit you upside the head or kiss you.”

“I know which I’d prefer.”

You laughed, aiming a light slap to his head which he avoided, grinning like a mad man and pulling you towards him into a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for your support. It definitely helped me finish the fic. It was supposed to be 20 chapters long but I wanted to wrap it up. Who knows I could be convinced to write these two lovebirds again one day, but until now that's all folks xxx


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